Our Wintertime Cranberry Cove Commuter Ferry

Did you know we have been operating the ‘winter’ commuter ferry to the Cranberry Isles for at least 15 years now? Yes, it’s true! The original idea for a ‘winter’ commuter ferry came from the year-round Cranberry isles residents themselves. In the fall the year round ‘mail boat’ that operates to the Cranberry Isles reduced its scheduled runs as there are far fewer passengers in the ‘off season’ from approximately mid-October through the end of April. This is understandable. However, since there was no High School on the Cranberry Isles (although each Island has an Elementary school) and there were some residents who worked ‘off Island’, some families were moving off the Island as well during this time frame. Since this diminished the year-round Island population, the Islanders themselves suggested what they needed was an earlier and later ferry run during weekdays. We were the only company willing to give the winter run a try, as it does present significant challenges in the fall and winter as you can imagine. Most of our commuter runs operate in darkness with challenging winter conditions of snow, ice, gale winds and stormy seas.

It has been a challenging and steep learning curve. The commuter ferry run begins in Northeast Harbor and departs by 5:45AM for the first passenger pickup on Great Cranberry Island. Departing Great Cranberry Island by 6:15AM, the ferry then proceeds to Islesford (Little Cranberry Island) where it departs at 6:30AM headed back to Northeast Harbor. The evening commuter ferry departs Northeast Harbor at 5pm and reverses the ‘loop’ going to Islesford first, then onto Great Cranberry Island before returning to Northeast Harbor. By late fall/winter it is dark by 4pm and morning sunrise is typically after the ferry is already headed back in. There is often an increase in gales and storm activity this time of year where it is unsafe to operate the ferry, so the Islanders are notified of any cancellations via the Cranberry Cove Commuter Ferry Facebook page.

Additionally, as temperatures drop over the winter there is more frequency of snow & ice. Recently the commuter ferry has had to break ice to get out of its slip to run across ice in the harbors. If ice were to build up on the upperworks of the ferry it can impact the stability of the ferry as well as the electronics on board where antennas can become iced up. After approximately mid-fall the ‘floats’ used in the conjunction with the piers on the islands are removed and ferries need to work off the ‘pilings’ that support the dock. These pilings can at times be encased in ice and the staff have to get a line around the piling and back to the ferry to be able to dock long enough for passengers and their freight (groceries, supplies etc.) to get off onto the steps built into the side of the dock. Usually, the year-round Islanders form a human ‘chain’ to hand these items up to the top of the pier. In the worst of the winter conditions there are usually few, if any, other vessels out and underway so the commuter ferry is often the only vessel operating in this area during these times.

The first commuter ferry we operated was the ‘Island Queen’ a 42’ wood ferry that was built on Great Cranberry Island in 1963. We repowered the Island Queen during the early years of this run from a Detroit 4-71 diesel to a new 6-cylinder John Deere diesel.

For the past 10 years or so the 49’ wood ferry Miss Lizzie ran, also built on Great Cranberry Island in 1967. Miss Lizzie for many years was the long time ‘mail boat’ out to Isle au Haut and was named for one of the earlier Post Mistresses on the Island.

More recently the ferry ‘Seneca’, a 34’ fiberglass converted Navy launch has been operating during the harshest parts of the 2025/2026 winter. The ‘Seneca’ was rebuilt & converted in our boat shop in Manset, which we rent from the Cranberry Isles. ‘Seneca’ had a new cabin designed and built as well as new systems, electronics, and US Coast Guard safety gear for service as a passenger ferry. The ‘Miss Lizzie’ has been undergoing some renovations and upgrades this winter and has been one of our long-time ferries on the Bar Harbor to Winter Harbor/Schoodic seasonal ferry run. The ‘Seneca’ also spent the 2025 summer season operating as our Eastport to Lubec ferry boat.

Staff operating the commuter run this 2025-2026 season include Capt. Mandy Bracy, Capt. Steve (Spiff) Carter, and crew hand Jarris Bragdon. Capt. Mandy grew up and resides on Great Cranberry Island and is our senior Captain on the seasonal Cranberry Cove Ferry operating between Southwest Harbor and the Cranberry Isles. Fun facts: Capt. Mandy’s grandfather was the lead builder on the ferry Miss Lizzie and Mandy also is a commercial lobsterman, diver and a well-known local photographer to boot! Capt. Spiff has worked as a commercial fisherman on MDI, has his own boat shop where he repairs and builds commercial fishing boats, and recently attained his US Coast Guard Captain’s license. Jarris Bragdon grew up in Downeast Maine and works on both the winter commuter ferry, the Cranberry Cove Ferry, other vessels and is part of our maintenance crew.

The Cranberry Cove Commuter ferry is very unique and challenging as it operates during some of the harshest weather and sea conditions off the coast of Maine in the winter. We are the Eastern-most year-round ferry service in Maine and the US. If you want to glimpse a rarely seen part of the Maine coast show up around 5:30AM in Northeast Harbor Monday-Friday & say hello to our staff. It’s an invigorating experience you’ve simply got to see to believe!